Writing Tips

Daniel Radcliffe
a.k.a. Harry Potter!

Special guest Daniel joined Chris Evans in the Radio 2 studio to talk about his new movie. We jumped at the chance to quiz The Boy Who Lived about his favourite books and his writing tips for young authors. Has he learned anything from J.K. Rowling?

Eoin Colfer
Author of the Artemis Fowl series

"In a story even the boring stuff, like walking across a room, has to be interesting to read. On some level your story must be real so have some truth at the centre, whether it's in the characters, plot or setting. Never ever end your story with 'and it was all a dream'. All that means is you couldn't tie up the plot."

Bali Rai
Author of Fire City

"Stuck for an idea? Read a book, watch a film, listen to some music, whatever gets your imagination flowing. Need characters? Use the people around you. Draw inspiration from the world you see and then add the extra layers you need to make the story your own. Oh and have FUN!"

Steve Cole
Author of the Cows In Action series

"Plan your story - know the end before you start. Use quirky characters that your reader will want to know. Readers like to be teased - if your baddies have an evil plan, don't blurt it out straight away. Remember, making mistakes doesn't mean you're rubbish - not if you learn from them."

Cathy Cassidy
Author of The Chocolate Box Girls series

"Read lots - you'll learn about style, plot and narrative as you go! Write about something you care about - it'll show! Write a little every day, even if it's just in a diary/journal... Every story needs a beginning, middle and end... When the going gets tough, keep going... and good luck!"

Ali Sparkes
Author of the S.W.I.T.C.H. series

"STOP DOING THAT! Immediately! Now get over here so I can tip some water on your head. In case you hadn't noticed... your hair is ON FIRE."

"I think you need to hijack people and pull them into your story. Possibly because I have the attention span of a bored gnat."

Francesca Simon, Author of Horrid Henry

"My ideas come from everywhere - newspapers, things people say, films I've seen, dreams - you just need to work on listening out for them and writing them down in your ideas notebook which you should ALWAYS have with you. But remember: your stories will be more fun if you give them a twist and combine 2 or more genres. So, if you want to write about football, what about an alien football match, or a pets' football match? If you want to write about a school, how about a school for ghosts? Or animal detectives?"

Lauren St John,
Author of The Laura Marlin Mysteries

"Write stories as if you're writing a letter to a pen pal in another country. Imagine that they live somewhere quite remote so you need to describe things to them in a way that helps them to see and experience what you do. What do things look, sound, taste, feel and smell like? Try to really feel whatever your character is experiencing. Joy, fear or sadness. That way, the reader will too."

Geraldine McCaughrean
Author of Pull Out All the Stops

"Stories can be any length. One sentence is a plot outline. A paragraph lets you set your scene and hint at fear, mystery or excitement. Given space, your characters can develop villainy, glamour, chutzpah...500 words and there's even room for style, imagery, and a story-arc that swells like a wave to break, then ebb away... or freeze."